Basic Thumb Stroke Development

It is important to develop an efficient right hand thumb technique with the ability to use not only free stroke, but rest stroke as well. A versatile thumb technique is important for dynamic and color flexibility, bringing out bass lines, and muting. The following video discusses the mechanics of the thumb stroke as well as how the stroke can change in different musical situations (ie. single line vs. multi-voice textures/chords). Pay attention to the angle of the thumb to the bass strings, if it is not a large enough angle (roughly 35 degrees) it will be difficult to do a rest stroke with the thumb. If your hand and thumb are positioned correctly, you thumb will slice through the string easily. Your thumb tip joint will be extended while playing a rest stroke and in many instances free stroke as well. The thumb tip joint will flex through the string sometimes while playing chords, multi-part textures, and free stroke, but never for rest stroke. The usage of the tip joint will largely depend on the musical context along with your personal tastes in tone and anatomy of your thumb (ie. length and shape of the thumb).

Practice the basic rest and free strokes with the thumb on the open bass strings while planting i, m, and a on strings 3, 2, and 1 respectively. Planting your fingers on the trebles will ensure you must move from the wrist joint of the thumb and not your entire hand which is a common mistake. Extraneous movement in free stroke thumb is another common error. Allow the straight, efficient movement of the rest stroke thumb train the free stroke thumb to make a straight movement downward toward the index finger. When playing free stroke thumb, it is fine if your thumb touches your index finger during the flexion of the stroke.

Developing Basic Rest Stroke

The rest stroke is the secondary stroke on the guitar. In the most basic sense, it used often for accenting, highlighting notes in multi-part textures, and single line textures. The following video discusses how to find the proper rest stroke position from free stroke position, mechanics of the stroke, and some hints on developing a healthy, dynamically relaxed rest stroke. I believe, since the rest stroke is often the first stroke students learn (because it is easy to get a big, full sound using rest stroke and ideal for single line melodies), it is where many player's right hand problems start. Specifically, maintaining too much tension while trying to control the return (extension) of the finger instead of releasing the energy (during flexion) once the finger passes through the string. Releasing the energy for both free and rest stroke is very important and will result in a natural return as well as a healthy right hand. The exercise in the video is effective for beginners to learn a natural return to the string as well as the play/relax or ballistic motion concept. It is also effective first step for experienced guitarists who have damaged their right hands through maintaining too much tension throughout the return.  The simple repetition of releasing the energy in the finger will help retrain and replace the tense, inefficient muscle memory in the hand. This exercise should be practiced with “a”, “m”, and “i”. For now, use the treble strings (strings 1,2, and 3) for the exercise.

Developing Basic Free Stroke

The free stroke is the most common stroke used in classical guitar playing which consequently makes it the most important stroke to master. The following video discusses one approach to developing a technically sound, basic free stroke. Basic right hand terminology and concepts are also covered in the video. Begin by placing your "i" finger on the 3rd string, "m" on the 2nd string, and "a" on the 1st string while anchoring "p" on the 5th string. Using the technique discussed in the video, you should practice the following open string combinations daily to continually develop your free stroke:

• (3 fingers) ima
• (2 fingers) im, ma, ia
• (one finger) i, m, a

These simple exercises are not just for beginners, but advanced guitarists as well. The key to developing an advanced technique is mastering the most basic movements and elements of technique. This is the first exercise I do everyday when I pick up a guitar. It is a great way to way to warm up your right hand as well as refine your free stroke and tone. This is the first step to building and maintaining a healthy right hand.

Classical Guitar Seating Position

Classical guitar technique all starts with the seating position. In any aspect of instrumental technique, you want to receive the maximum result for the least amount of effort. More for less! If you aren't mindful and attentive in obtaining an effective seating position, many other elements of your technique will never be as effective, effortless, and simple as they could otherwise be. These elements of technique inhibited by a faulty seating position include barring, finger pressure, shifting, general visibility of the neck and right hand as well as other issues particular to an individual player's body composition and traits. Much like a math equation, if one aspect of your technique is incorrect or ineffective other aspects are sure to follow. You should keep in mind this simple and obvious rule, "the guitar should accommodate your body, your body should not accommodate the guitar". The following step by step instructions explain one way to obtain an effective seating position (I wrote these for my students years ago).

1.     Sit on the edge of your chair, balanced on your sitting bones, back straight with good posture.

2.     Place the footstool in front of you on the floor in the center of the chair, pointing straight forward.

3.     Place your left foot on the footstool, adjusting the footstool in order to create a line perpendicular to the floor from your knee to heel. This will position your body slightly to the right.

4.     Allow your left arm to hang by your side, palm up. Raise your arm upward and slightly forward to around shoulder height (or just below eye level), bending mainly at the elbow and slightly at the shoulder (To check step 4- When you relax the arm, it will fall back and down). This is very important to get exactly right if you wish to utilize “weight” or “gravity” in order to make your left hand technique more effortless.

5.     Place the guitar on your left thigh and slot the neck in the left hand with the position established in Step 4.

6.     Place your right hand in front of the strings allowing the right forearm (between the wrist and the elbow) to rest on the right-front edge of the guitar.

7.     Position the inside of the right thigh to contact and support the lower flat side of the guitar while the right foot rests on its ball, back and in towards the body.

8.     DON’T TWIST YOUR TORSO!

In the following video, I discuss some of my thoughts and demostrate how to develop a proper seating position.

Effective Practicing for the Classical Guitarist

Your approach to practicing largely determines how you play guitar. Firstly, keeping a practice journal is a must. It is a simple means tracking what and how much you have been practicing. It is also a mirror to reflect your practice habits. It is an opportunity to be honest with yourself.

Secondly, you should be mindful of how you divide your practice time. Your practice should be divided into a few important categories. They are:

•Technique-Arpeggios, slurs, scales, miscellaneous exercises, etc...
•Sight-reading/Fretboard harmony
•Old repertoire
•New repertoire 

Thirdly, HOW you practice these categories is equally important.

•Practice SLOW or slow enough to not make mistakes. If you practice mistakes, you will play mistakes. It also affords you the time to work on detail both technically and musically. You should use a metronome for slow practice and/or a tempo you can play without making any mistakes. If you make mistakes at any given tempo, you must slow down to a tempo where you do not. You can think of this as your “perfect tempo”. As you improve, you will be able to gradually increase the tempo while remaining mistake free. If you make more than three mistakes, you need to decrease the tempo.

•Practice music out of context (ie. start at the last phrase or sub phrase of a piece and practice phrase by phrase moving backwards toward the beginning). In other words, you shouldn't start at the beginning of a piece and play until you make a mistake then start over. Furthermore, you shouldn't start at the beginning of a piece a keep playing until the end even if you make mistakes. This is called "performance practice". In other words, "going for it" and letting the mistakes fall where they may (hopefully, not at all!). You need to occasionally do this, but the majority of your practice should be aim directed and purposeful. 

•Implement effective strategies out of context. Some effective strategies are:

-Isolating and concentrating on the left hand only, isolating and concentrating on   the right hand only, and visualizing your left and right hand fingerings "mind's eye" with your eyes closed.
-Using varied rhythms (dotted, sixteenth subdivisions, etc...)
-Slow/fast (at tempo) practice 
-visualizing the music away from the guitar. 
You can also couple these strategies for further benefit (ie. practicing out of context with-varied rhythms, slow/fast, or isolating each hand, etc...).

•Practice in front of a mirror. This will allow you to detect technique issues that might be missed otherwise.

Lastly, actively listening to classical music each day from the various major composers of each musical era along with the standard guitar repertoire is very, very important to your understanding of classical music. For example, listening to Mozart would better help you understand Sor, Giuliani, or many of the early nineteenth century guitar composers. Most of these composers' output is in the style of Mozart's musical language. Mozart's language defined the "classical era" of music and other minor composers (Sor, Giuliani, etc) followed suit. Listening to classical guitar music is important because you will learn about the different technical approaches used by various concert players. Moreover, it will help you determine the style, approach and sound you would like to take in your own playing. It will better familiarize you with the guitar repertoire and will teach you how the guitar as an instrument fits in the larger musical landscape of classical music.